Joan Iversen giving one of her lectures

In 1969, after a first semester of uninspiring courses, I registered for my first course with Dr. Iversen.  This was the way college was supposed to be.  Dr. Iversen’s passion for U.S. History reaffirmed my love of it.  I continued through my college career taking every Dr. Iversen course I could get into. I declared a Social Science major and asked Dr. Iversen to be my advisor.

Dr. Iversen was amazing, while she was lecturing on an event or person, she would cite books and authors for further information.  When I stated my teaching career I would refer to these notes for info.  When I retired a few years ago I was cleaning out my books and found my notebooks from Dr. Iversen’s courses.  What great memories.

Probably her greatest influence was her women studies program.  This was in its early stage during my college career. Dr. Iversen challenged women to look at the world differently and not to accept the status quo.

Thank you Dr. Iversen for being my inspiration. Though during my 30-year teaching career not all my male high school students appreciated it!

~ cassandra finnis-palen